Audio platforms are designing a new blueprint for engagement, harnessing multisensory and fluid feeds for next-gen audio and visual interaction.
Spotify has upgraded its app offering and format, making it more intuitive and reflective of popular social platforms. The audio app introduced a vertical feed to its app design that resembles TikTok and Instagram’s scrolling feeds. Users will now be met with video and audio previews through a timeline-esque function as an upgrade to Spotify’s carousels of playlists, albums, and recommendations. In February, Spotify debuted an AI DJ that curates personalized playlists according to each listener’s music taste and most-listened to content, presented using a dynamic AI voice that “brings to life stunningly realistic voices from text,” according to a press release. Spotify is also testing playlists curated for users who own a dedicated NFT.
Soundcloud also announced that it was testing a vertical feed for iOS and Android users in March. The update will include AI-powered suggestions, song clips and previews, and new Discover and Following pages for select users included in the test.
TikTok is testing a podcast
feature, a definitive step towards audio-app functionality for the social and video platform. With this upgrade, users will be able to listen to TikTok content as background audio, even if they navigate to another app on their devices. Right now, the app pauses any videos whenever users switch to other functions outside of TikTok.
